Process of making shoe-heel bases



June 12, 1923. lv458,524

o. T. CRAFTS PROCESS OF MAKING SHOE HEEL BASES Filed Feb. 25. 1922 Patented June 12, 1923.

UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE.

PROCESS OF MIAKING SHGE-HEEL BASES.

Application filed February 25, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I OTIS T. CRArTs, a citizen of the United. States, and resident of Manchester, in the county of Hillsboro and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Processes of Making Shoe- Heel Bases, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

In my prior application Ser. No. 508,538, filed October 18, 1921, I have illustrated, de scribed and claimed a novel type of boot or shoe and process of making the same, wherein I employed a special heel or heel base of novel form, type, contour and construction.

My present invention is an improvement on the process of making the heel base from that explained in my said prior application, resulting in an improved construction, better fitting shoe and numerous other advanta es.

Itiy present invention is specially useful, for making a 'heel base, consisting in one or more lift portions and the equivalent of a heel rand for use in applying rubber heels toplift or subsequent layers to boots and shoes.

In making heel bases, it has been customary heretofore to build up the heel in lami nated sections, and apply a heel rand bent or sprung into the desired curvature or approximately desired contour, around the heel. As explained in my prior application I therein illustrated and claimed a heel or heel base and process of making same, wherein the rand was formed by a gouging action independently of any separate bending, fitting, etc. A difficulty with my prior process and the resulting product was that it was difficult, if not impossible to obtain uniformity in the resulting heel bases or heel blanks. Thus for example in the forming of heel bases of two, three or more portions or thicknesses, the constant variation in the thickness of the stock from which the layers are built, rendered it extremely difiicult, if not impossible from a practical standpoint, to have heel bases of uniform completed thickness throughout. This constant variation is not even overcome by compressing the heel base. Consequently I have devised the present process with the object in view of producing an absolutely uniform product, insuring the finished or completed height of the heel base to any desired ex- Serial No. 539,308.

tent; further greatly facilitating the gouging and cup forming action; positively providing a heel base with a randed contour of uniform extent and curvature, without ap plying any previously made rand, eliminating the necessity for constant variations in adjustments of heel nail attaching means, and furthermore providing an ideally prepared surface on the heel base for the application of a rubber heel or subsequent layers.

I obtain the objects above noted by first forming or building an individual heel base of a plurality of portions, preferably layers, which will present a base of slightly greater total thickness than the thickness desired for the finished and completed article. With the base thus built up, I then put the same through a skiving machine operation, set to a uniform thickness for the particular size and type of base being made, thus skiving off the variations and unevennesses and producing as a resulting product, a heel base of absolutely uniform thickness, together also with a specially prepared or roughened surface, the skived face, which will facilitate the attaching, gluing or cementing of the rubber heel or subsequent layer. A still further advantage of this skiving operation re sulting in uniformity of product, is that the base may be positioned in the gouging machine, to form the cup shaped and rand shaped portions with the newly and smoothly skived face downwardly, thus enabling the gouging machine operation to be more efficiently, uniformly and easily performed,

guiding upon a freshly skived, cut or plane face on the base.

I believe that this process is a distinct novelty in this art, and I wish to claim the same herein broadly.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating my process and the resulting products,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a heel base wherein the same is built up of greater thickness than that desired;

Fig. 2 shows the resulting uniform thickness to which the oversized heel bases are cut down and ready for the gouging machine;

Fig. 3 is a plan view after'the base is gouged;

Fig. 4t is a view of the completed base looking from the left of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the base;

Fig. 6 illustrating the base built into a shoe wherein a rubber heel is attached.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 I illustrate a base designated generally at 1 consisting in a plurality of layers 2, 3 and 1, each layer being of varying thicknessas is customaryand also of varyin thicknesses lengthwise, cross-Wise, etc. The plurality of layers are built up, cemented together and present a base of oversize, i. e., greater thickness or height than that desired for the finished article. Thereupon all bases of this greater size and varying thicknesses, are put through a skiving machine operation, cutting, skiving or planing the same down to a finished predetermined height or iron. I prefer to perform this cutting or skiving operation so as to leave a-substantial thickness or layer of waste material, designated 5 in Fig. 1, and showing the line of cut or skive at 10. Thus I may save all the material otherwise wasted, preferably forming the bases of suflicientl-y greater oversize to provide a waste layer of substantial thick ness and therefore usefulness, which can be built into a succeeding heel base. In Fig. 2 the completely skived base 1 is shown of uniform thickness throughout its entire area, the variations both lengthwise and cross- Wise having been cut off by the skiving ac-' tion on the line 10. The base is now ready for the gouging action, the skived surface 12 presenting a smooth, uniformly level and plane side or surface, the gouging action being preferably from the opposite side or surface. The bases are put through any suitable or usual type of gouging machine, resulting in the completely formed cupshaped and beveled randed base as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4: and 5. This feature is more fully explained in detail in my said prior and copending application. Preferably the base is gouged with the lowermost layer inclined slightly from rim to heel breast as indicated at 1 1, 15, Figs. 4 and 5, and with a substantial or suflicient heel rand. or bevel 16 formed entirely around the heel base. The base thus completed is applied to the shoe 20 and the subsequent rubber heel layer 21 is fitted, or the rubber heel layer or the like can be applied separately to the heel base 1 and then together applied to the shoe 20. I may compress the heel base either when in the condition shown in Fig. 1, or Fig. 2, or Fig. 3.

The result of my novel process consists-in the production of a heel base which is a vast improvement over any prior method of which I am aware, and makes abase having perfect uniformity in the finished height, all variations in thicknesses of the different bases as built, being automatically taken off by the skiving or cutting. The further feature of having a smooth, plane, freshly cut surface on which the base can be guided or rested for the gouging action greatly simplifies this operation and .insures uniformity in the finished heel base. Furthermore, this freshly cut or skived face gives a roughened surface where leather is used, which formerly required a special, slow, buffing or rough ing operation, thus permitting the heel base to be readily cemented thereto, and establishing a firm bond or union between the base and rubber heel. With an appropriate and predetermined smoothed, planed, skived face, the gouging act-ion performs its operation more evenly than heretofore, and thereby completes the rand 16 in a more efficient, desirable and perfect condition than by prior methods. My process is easy to carry out, requires no unusual or extra skilful operations, and can be utilized by means of many well-known, inexpensive and high speed skiving, cutting or splitting machines. Furthermore, my process and the operations incident to carrying through the same, are applicable to a heel base of any material, combination of materials or to a pulp or fiber mass. In other Words, I may utilize a plurality of layers of leather, leatherbdard or a combination of the same, or any other combination of materials, or I may make my heel base from a mass or block of pulp, leatherboard or the like, having a greater or oversize dimension-as above explained-- then trimming off the same to predetermined thickness and thence completing the gouging and forming action.

I believe that my process of first building a single heel base-as distinguished from a heel log and then cutting individual heels therefrom, constructing this single base of any desired number of layers, irrespective of the resultant height, as well, also, as building a heel base, specially adapted as an intermediate layer "between a shoe heel and a rubber heel or other top'lift, and then trimming said individual heel base to a fixed, standard, uniform height, thus giving a trimmed, skived, roughened, smooth, fiat and horizontal surface suitable for holding; the base in a true, level, predetermined position in the gouging machine,

for that actionand simultaneously presenting a skived surface of roughened leather, specially fit for attachment of the rubber lift or toplift to 'its under-side, is a distinctly new process and is claimed broadly herein. The resulting formation of a randed contour of perfect uniformity in each base and in each successive heel base of similar size, is thus secured.

My invention is further described anddefined in the form of a claim as follows:

The improved process of 7 making heel bases, which consists inbuilding an individual blank, of a plurality of layers, the combined height of said layers being oversize with regard to the thickness of the finished heel base, then skiving the blank to to fit the shoe heel, whereby successive heel remove surplus height and simultaneously bases of uniform height and of desired conform a plane skived surface to which a rubcavity on the heel seat attaching surface 10 her heel may be attached, and to also form with a plane opposite surface are provided.

5 a plane surface on which the blank may be In testimony whereof, I have signed my supported in a gouging machine, and then name to this specification. gouging the blank to form a concave surface OTIS T. CRAFTS. 

